"Harrison Bergeron" is a satirical dystopian science-fiction short story by American writer Kurt Vonnegut, first published in October 1961.
Originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, the story was republished in the author's Welcome to the Monkey House collection in 1968.
Diana Moon Glampers, the Handicapper General, and her agents enforce the equality laws by forcing citizens to wear "handicaps" such as ugly masks for those who are too beautiful, earpiece radios for the intelligent that broadcast irritating noises meant to disrupt thoughts, and heavy weights for the strong or athletic.
On TV, a reporter with a speech impediment (like all announcers) struggles to read a bulletin and hands it to the ballerina wearing the most grotesque mask and heaviest weights.
He declares himself emperor and rips off both of his own handicaps and those of the ballerina who previously read the news bulletin, who elects to be his empress when given the option.
Suddenly, the Handicapper General bursts into the studio and kills Harrison and the Empress on the spot with two shotgun blasts while they are in the middle of a long kiss.